News - 3 October 2019 12:06

Uppsala BIO contributes to a successful year for Testa Center

Fifteen projects from Scandinavia have so far benefited from the technology and know-how available at the facility. The projects range from scale-up and purification activities, educational programs and training as well as the first digital verification project. Uppsala BIO has a crucial role in the development and establishment of Testa Center, resulting in the increased overall value of the Testa Center projects.

It is already a year since Testa Center opened the doors, and what a first year it has been! The four labs have been filled with activities spanning a wide range of application areas, ranging from Virtual Reality, process modeling, and sensors, to pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and spinach.

Indeed, a year filled with enthusiasm, positivity and problem-solving solutions.

UppsalaBIO team is really pleased with the portfolios of the companies that have chosen Testa Center to develop their processes and to build competence in their teams. BioLamina, and lya Pharma were first to use the facility, followed by Biovica, Sciar, Toleranzia, and FarmPharma.

New knowledge and larger industrial bioprocess competence are some of the benefits by using Testa Canter to run their projects. These aspects are value-adding for growing companies, many of whom have their roots in academia.

Additionally, the verification funding from Swelife has proven to be a very valuable tool to eliminate the lag-time required to find and secure financing.

Academic researchers have started to find their way to Testa Center.

For instance, it is cost-effective and incredibly time-saving to run a large batch when large amounts of e.g. a protein is needed. Marvin Seibert is an excellent example. The researcher from Uppsala University studies the carbon dioxide enzyme Rubisco and large amounts (grams) of the enzyme were necessary for the neutron scattering experiments (MAX IV/ESS). The research team has been able to produce 40 times as much material in a day or week at Testa Center, compared to the lab at Uppsala Biomedical Centre.

One of the top energy boosts during the year has been the interaction with all enthusiastic students. The possibility to perform course labs in an industrial setting is perceived as a positive development for Uppsala university courses. We hope to welcome other educational institutions and universities in the coming year.

“As a strong actor in the life sciences industry in Sweden and worldwide, GE Healthcare Life Sciences is committed to accelerating innovation through Testa Center, a hub of biotech excellence, where world-class research meets the latest available technology. We already see fantastic results and global interest in Testa Center, which is a great indication that such collaborations drive the advancement of life sciences,” says Lotta Ljungqvist, CEO of Testa Center and GE Healthcare Nordics in an official press release.

The teams from Uppsala BIO and Testa Center continue the processes and integration with the Swedish life science innovation system, focusing even more on digitalization and technology projects. The focal point will be looking outside of Sweden during the next year, in order to attract new players to benefit from our region’s expertise and experiences.

Four additional projects are expected to start at Testa Center before the end of the year.

About Testa Center

The facility was opened as a collaborative public/private model. The Swedish government invested around EUR 10 million (SEK 100 million) through Vinnova, its innovation agency, while GE Healthcare Life Sciences infused around EUR 4.5 million (SEK 45 million). Testa Center is equipped with technology from GE Healthcare Life Sciences, including four cell culture and protein purification laboratories, where academia, biotech start-ups, and the industry can test discoveries while keeping full ownership of intellectual property. Expanding across some 27,000 square feet (2500 m2), Testa Center is located on the premises of GE Healthcare Life Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden.

Testa Center numbers 1^st year
# visitors	2000
# visits	150
# countries represented	20
# external projects through Testa Center	10
# organizations engaged	23
# student wet lab courses	4
# students educated in Testa Center	60
# study visits (university students)	12
# Linkedin followers	620
# home page visits	5000 (74 countries)